In France, as in all industrial countries, the government is seeking to promote more extensive ties between universities and enterprises in order to stimulate creativity and growth. But can this be achieved through legislation alone? The various cases studied herein show that the successful commercialisation of public research is the result of the application of an "organic paradigm" consisting of the four closely interacting factors of legislation, the economic environment and entrepreneurship, technical progress and university strategy. We have applied this method to the specific case of a young French university (Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale) and have shown that what is lacking is the close interaction between academic research and a wealthy local economy, which hinders transfers of the scientific resources of public research to the business world.